NHS England and NHS West Lancashire CCG are working to put provision in place for these patients from July 1.

Dr Mark Hindle, who has worked as a GP in the Hesketh Bank area for 10 years, shared a statement with his patients confirming he was unable to guarantee suitable premises to run a practice from in line with the terms of his contract.

Despite efforts to find a solution and secure suitable premises, Dr Hindle felt unable to commit to a proposed alternative.

He said: “I appreciate that NHS England propose to provide a portable cabin type building in Tarleton, but regrettably having read the terms of the lease I do not feel it is a liability which I can commit to.

“I have indicated to NHS England, that I am happy to assist in any way I can with the smooth transition of patients care to the new provider of GP services, and that I am happy to give any assistance I can to the new provider.

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“I have not made any enquiries about other work beyond June and all my effort has gone into working at the practice and trying to keep the contract for the long term.“

The Patient Participation Group (PPG) shared a statement saying: “This is a very sad day for the staff and patients but an even sadder one for Dr Hindle who has devoted 10 years of his life to our care.

“The PPG, alongside Seema Kennedy MP, Malcolm Barron County Councillor and other Councillors will continue to work with the NHSE/CCG to ensure the continuity of care for the patients of Dr Hindle’s Practice.”

A spokesperson for NHS England (Lancashire & South Cumbria) and NHS West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “We want to be absolutely clear, that all patients currently registered at Viran Medical Centre will continue to have access to GP services from 1 July 2017.

"The GP practice is moving on a temporary basis to a state of the art mobile medical unit in Tarleton as a short-term measure, as a result of the lease on the current premises expiring.

"The current contract holder, Dr Hindle, has decided to hand back his contract and we are working to identify another provider to deliver services from July.

“Our absolute priority is to ensure that patients registered at Viran Medical Centre have primary care medical provision in place from July 1, 2017 and we are continuing to work to identify a provider to deliver GP services.

"We will be working with Dr Hindle and other practice staff to ensure that there is a smooth transition.

“All services will continue as normal at Viran Medical Centre in Hesketh Bank until June 30 and patients will be able to make appointments and request prescriptions in the normal way. There is no need to register with another practice.

“We are in the process of informing all patients in writing of the current position and will continue to explore all the options for a permanent arrangement, working closely with the Patient Participation Group, patients and wider community to understand what people want from a future service.

“With that in mind, we will undertake a listening exercise with local people to hear their views. This will start soon after the local elections on 4 May.

"We will ensure that local people are kept fully informed of what is happening as we progress. In the meantime, we have a dedicated freephone number and email address for patients to share their views: 0800 044 8169 or email viranmedical@H2A.global.”

Any patients with questions regarding their medical care from the July 1 can contact the Clinical Commissionin Group on 0800 044 8169.